Left 4 Red and Blue
by Dessmond Williams
Summary: After the war, the Blood Gulch gang gets slapped with one more crisis. Even after evil computers, crazy tanks, and a mental sergeant, nothing could prepare them for, THE ZOMBPOCALYPSE!
1. This reminds me of Something?

A/N: I have to say, writing Allies is a pain in the but, so I scraped it. After thinking through, I realize it had very little plot info and was overall, not well thought out. Anyway, this will be about life for the Reds and Blues, (Including my OC Dessmond) after the War is over, also featuring the best scene from the single greatest Zombie Movie Ever. Yes, Shaun of the Dead. You know the scene, and you 'Can't Stop Me Now' from writing it. Anyway, enjoy.

Bungie and RT are the sole owners of everything Except Des.

After the Red and Blue Civil war ended, many soldiers were shipped back with severe mental and physical disabilities. Some had an extremely difficult time reconnecting with modern society. Most had to be helped through life with a personal assistant. This group of soldiers is not the aforementioned types.

"Caboose, I told you, not to leave the water running!" the former blue leader cried to his still obsessed friend.

"Sorry Church, I was going to give Mittens the cat a bath, but it turned out, he was a rock." The still slow private replied, oblivious to the anger laced in his friend's voice.

"Aw, leave him alone Church. You flooded my apartment when we first started dating. Remember, you forgot to turn the tub off and I had to kick your ass for it?" the former mercenary said, obviously trying to get her Ex's goat.

"Hey, Tex, bet your carpet was really wet that night. Bow-Chika-Bow-Wow!" The recently discovered to be Black private said, his sexist attitude relevant as always. Until a swift kick in the shin shut him up.

"Hey, guys, I know after the war, the UNSC could only spring for a few apartments, but you all don't have to hang at me and Caboose's place. All the time." The former Veteran said, clearly annoyed with his friends continued choice of recreation.

"Yeah, but then where would I practice my ping pong ball trick?" The stupid, color blind girl replied, oblivious to what she just reveled.

"You practice in my apartment? Where?!"

"In the shower, where else? Duh."

"Yeah, wait, what?" Everyone cried in union.

After the war, the "Blood Gulch Babies" as the UNSC affectionately named the two groups of soldiers; were placed in the same apartment complex. With two main buildings in the lot, the Brass thought it would be funny to put them opposite of each other due to their previous assignment, the reds in building one and the blues in building Alpha. The situation was really ironic, considering the two teams have settled their long time "dispute" after Sarge signed up for another Tour of Duty. Even though the Reds and Blues are at peace, he still preferred to be on duty than have to live near Grif. Apparently, even though Doc was neutral, he was stuck in the reds apartment.

"Uh, hey guys? I don't mean to be a burden but, I need someone to drive me to therapy. I still think he has control of my hands." The former medic Doc, although the AI driven from his head by expert UNSC Engineers, still has fits of Evil. Since he was controlled by O'Malley for so long, the AI left quite a bit of residual data, that had eventually, sunk into his cognitive and speech parts of his brain. Therapy was the best the Brass would spring for.

"We don't need any one to drive. Let me, I'll promise to only kill a few pedestrians. Muw ha ha ha."

"Stop it O'Malley, that's just evil. Grif, old buddy, could you give us a lift to Therapy?"

"Sorry Doc, but when a three hour marathon of Battle Star Galactica is on, no one can pry the keys from Simmons." The only, slightly out of shape private told the medic. After living so close to Doc, Grif had to start working out and eating right, just to shut him up. Even though he would never admit it, he actually thanked Doc after he lost forty pounds.

"I can drive, I just got my new Moped back from the body shop. I TOTALLY TRICKED IT OUT, DAWG!" The metro sexual private declared. After they got back, Simmons and Grif had a Bet that the first person to go out with Donut would be either a Gay painter, or a Gay tennis player. They were wrong. Apparently, Donut was engaged to a Beautiful super model from Sweden before the war. Thank fully, after the bomb went off, Donut forgot about her completely and after getting home, picked up an even prettier one. At first, Simmons and Grif didn't believe it, but after looking through the marriage licenses issued during the time, they learned it was true. Both called a tie and neither won anything.

"Well, if you are okay with Mr. Grouch-a-Saurus up here, I guess so."

"Awesome, I'm going to go get my Flower Helmet."

Back at the Blues…

Caboose was mindlessly flipping through the channels, waiting for his brother to tell him to stop. Even though Church has already told him to… Several times.

"And it appears to be a case…"

"Of completely random…"

"Attacks that the Gesell has absolutely no…"

"Defense is being pretty sloppy…"

"Messes will come right…"

"Out in the open, the reports are coming in now."

"Caboose wait, let's see what's up." Caboose's random flipping of the channels has created a somewhat nostalgic scene.

"What do they mean, eating the brains?" The dark skinned man asked, feeling somehow nervous by this news.

"I think he means Zombies." The Elder Brother said.

"These beings can be destroyed by, severing the head, or destroying the brain."

"Yep, it's Zombies. We are all going to be Corpses together." The Oblivious younger brother squealed with delight.

"Caboose, even if the Zombies are real, the chances of me, willingly going in a group with the same person who killed me, twice, are extremely low."

"What do you mean, if there real, we fought the flood in the 2nd Battle of Earth. Hell, the Chief and I slaughtered around ten to twenty hundred. This could be a new strain of flood bacteria. Wait a second… Caboose, go grab the Safe." The Veteran called to his younger brother.

"Okay."

"What are you getting a safe for, what merit does that give you?" The former gun for hire asked.

"It has "THE BOOK"."

"The Book?"

"Yes, the only book to make it past the government filters, and to successfully tell the stories and survival strategies of Z-Day survivors. It will tell us where to go."

"You're crazy." Tex said.

"No, I'm prepared. I already have a supply cache located in the bar, "The Wanchester"."

"As I said before, you're crazy."

"Allison, my ancestor left me this because they knew, if the Zombpocalypse happens, this book will save lives. Tell me, have you ever wondered where the legend of the Yeti came from?"

"No, I always assumed it was a big furry guy."

"No, it was actually, a special infected that has adapted to survive the freezing temperate of the Himalayas."

"Listen guys, even if this isn't real, I think Tex should go over to the Grif's place and round them up for a split group, so as not to attract attention." The former blue leader explained.

"Oh Church, not you too?" Tex replied.

"Tex, there are two types of people in this world, people who have a plan, and those who don't. We call those other people, Dinner." Tucker chimed in.

"Your all idiots." Was her brilliant reply.

"Still, it couldn't hurt to go check on them, and check outside to make sure it isn't just the media causing mass hysteria." Church explained.

"Oh fine, if it stops your whining. Oh Crap."


	2. Viva la Revolution

A/N: REVIEWWWWS, Author needs REVIEWWWWS!!! Although I have come to terms with Halo being a lower margin of readers compared to other sections, I still wish more reviews would come in. Anyway, I will try to make the chapters longer and more, 'Detailed'. Also, if anyone can tell me how many different things I 'borrowed' from other media, you get a cookie.

"Oh Crap."

"Hey, it's Tex! Hey Tex!" The always upbeat Donut, SCREAMED, across the court yard.

"Donut, don't you think these people are acting a little weird?" questioned the former medic.

"Nah, they're just tired. Besides, that's probably just O'Malley talking again, trying to get you to skip out on therapy."

"Hey, Donut! You and Doc better get in the elevator!" cried Simmons, clearly anxious.

"Donut, I think we should listen to him, not many things can distract Simmons from Battlestar."

"Well, I guess I could go back up to get my flag. I got an awesome Flower Flag for my moped last time I was in the body shop."

Meanwhile…

"Well, how many hell pigs are we facing Tex?" the former vet asked, clearly anxious to use his prized Katana.

Ah, Katanas, the warriors weapon. A blade so thick, it could cut through tempered steel, at least, this one could. After being 'demoted' Dessmond decided, "Hey, after that crap fest, why not I steal some adamantium?" And so he did. After getting shipped out to Blood Gulch, he began working in the caves at night, crafting his one true treasure. And when he and the rest of the team were moved to Valhalla, he would sneak into the reds base at night and use their simulator to train. If he was going to face the Zombpocalypse, he was going to do so in style.

"Hell pigs?" questioned Tucker, clearly not being a "Retro" gamer.

"Well, just counting the ones in the courtyard, at least a few hundred, although they seem to be slow moving so we wouldn't need to fight too many."

"Maybe we should see if we can get the reds and doc so we can push our way to a Fortress." Offered Church.

"No, we would be to susceptible to being overrun. Maybe split up; have one team go get help, while the other heads to the bar to get my supply cache." Des said, clearly engrossed by the fact that his plan was finally going to work.

"Well, if you take these idiots, I'll take the reds." Said Tex.

"Alright, but take Sister too. Her brother may be worried." Said Des.

"Fine, but first we have to get to the elevators. And that means crossing the street." Church piped in.

"Caboose, hand me my Katana."

"You have a Katana?" cried Tucker.

"Of course, when your raised in a house where the Zombie Takeover is an inevitable factor, you get certain perks." Des stated.

"All right, hang on a sec, I need my gun." Said Tex.

(At this time, I would suggest you all put on, Beauty of Annihilation. Just open a tab, look it up on youtube. The Experience will be much more enjoyable.)

"At our current inventory, we have a Cricket bat, baseball bat, katana, monkey wrench, and Tex's Pistol. Take your Pick." Commanded Des.

4th floor…

3rd floor…

2nd floor…

DING

_**All my atrocities come by way of reciprocity. I'm chewing the bones of my own reprieve.**_

Des's Katana slashes a Zombie in two, while Churches Monkey wrench opens up an entirely new kind of hell on the undead.

_**Death be my dignity, execute hemlock philosophy. Poison fills the cup of the Carpenter.**_

With the combine force of a cricket and baseball bat, Tucker and Tex effectively "pop" the zit that is an undead officer. While doing so, a wonderfully executed back handed upper cut, rips a hell pig to shreds, leaving only the mutilated remains of a once innocent bystander. Church's wrench breaks the skull of another, leaving only a small layer of membrane left. A swift punch quickly silences the beast.

_**NOO love lost on me, MORE life so costly. No reason for Grieving. No LOVE LOST ON ME, more LIFE SO COSTLY. Bring me down WITH 7.92 HIGH VELOCITY**_

Once more, another five undead flesh sacks fall at the hands of the mighty survivors. But five out of a million, isn't much. Just more shit to beat up.

_**I can see them everywhere there, all around me they're waiting for me. Descending, unrelenting, Beauty of Annihilation.**_

"Half way there, keep it up!" Screamed Des over the incessant moaning of the Legion of the undead.

_**You're curiosity, feeding off my animosity. And reason, is Treason.**_

For a moment, Des was almost overrun, but with a saving grace from Tucker and Tex, the ferocity of the attack was soon vanquished. Until a surprise came crashing through the horde.

"What the fuck are those?" Cried Church.

"Tank forms! Flood Tank Forms." Screamed a scared shitless Des.

_**Love is good and clean, you can't fucking annihilate me. Bring you down, WITH 7.92 HIGH VELOCITY**_

_**I can see them everywhere there all around me, they're waiting for me. Descending, unrelenting beauty of annihilation.**_

"Get to the elevator, I'll hold them off!" Des called.

Running full force into a group of flood mutants and tank forms is stupid for all but a few. Only one person in history has ever been able to take down a tank form on his own, let alone three.

_**Death so beautiful, looks so beautiful, death so beautiful, looks so beautiful on me. (Kick ass Guitar Solo)**_

While running, Des noticed a broken flag pole. Being the quick thinker he was, he picked It up and pole-vaulted over the middle tank, effectively silencing it with a stab in the brain with the Katana. While the other two were distracted, he unveiled his two hidden blades. Running purely on instinct, not thinking of the consequences latter, he began to fight like he used to. Like a Spartan. Stabbing the left tank about ten times in a span of three seconds, leaving it immobile for a few seconds, was all he needed to lift the four hundred pound atrocity, and throw him at his companion.

_**I can see them everywhere their all around me they're waiting for me.**_

_**Descending, Unrelenting, Beauty of Annihilation. Looks like your prophet was mistaken, is life really gone or just been wasted.**_

After decapitating the two tanks, A large, guttural growl came from the street. Taking a quick glance, Des realized that he had attracted the horde. Hightailing it out of there, Des managed to retrieve his Katana, only to realize that in the heat of the moment, the upper half of the blade had been cut off. All good things must come to pass.

_**DOOM SO CLOSE THAT I CAN TASTE IT!!**_

As soon as he was in the elevator with the rest of the blues, all eyes were on Des.

"What?"

"What? What do you mean what; no normal human could do that!!" Screamed an even angrier than usual Church.

"For once, I have to agree with Church, what the FUCK WAS THAT!?!?" Screamed an even angrier and scarier than usual Tex.

"Well, I guess I have some explaining to do. You see it all star-" WHACK!!

As always, please review. Also, I guess a sub genre would know be Songfic. I never thought I would ever make one but here it is. Don't worry, Des will explain soon, just not in the next Chapter.


	3. Revalations

A/N: I am Back with L4RAB...with 2 more songs on the way. Obviously, "Don't Stop me Now" and Globus' "Take me Away". Some of you may have heard it in the Newgrounds flash, "Everything by Everyone". Wow, three endorsements in one go... Nike, "Just Do It". This chapter will include ideas from my scraped story "Allies". They will explain how Des became a Spartan. _Italics_ mean dream, or flashbacks. On with the Fic

*Loki, a Norse God who both helps and causes trouble for other Gods. Thor's half Brother.

**Tyrfing, a mystical sword used by many beings in the Norse Poem, "Poetic Edda"

"_Is everything prepared for the candidate?" Lord Hood asked._

"_Yes, all of **Loki's **systems have been powered and ready for testing. All we need is 217." Answered Dr. Catherine Halsey._

"_Excellent, inform 217 and we may begin testing of-"_

"_Sirs! Forgive the interruption, but the **Loki* **suit is gone! Along with **Tyrfing!****" Informed a random tech._

_Both Hood and Halsey looked at each other, knowing who took them. An hour ago, a distress call came from a small UNSC base located on the dessert planet named 'SDC-142' saying that a large Covenant force dropped out of slip space and began an immediate attack. Recon from a nearby unmanned probe spotted nearly a dozen cruisers and one capital ship. Going closer, the probe found the planet wasn't being glassed, but the ships were sending down an entire legion of troops to decimate the planet. After hearing this, 217 demanded to go and help, but Lord Hood had to make a tough decision to continue on with the test. Turning to the doctor, 217 implored her to try to convince Hood to let him go, but she was adamant about getting a positive reading from today's test. Enraged, claiming that both of them had lost their humanity, 217 stormed out of the observation room and went to the mess._

"_Does the HUD have a camera?" Questioned Terrance._

"_Yes, I'll pull it up now." Replied the doctor._

_Entering a string of code, the connection took a slightly longer time considering the location of the suit. Once connected, the two were gazing through the eyes of candidate 217. Currently, he was trekking through the dessert, a UNSC base in sight. When he looked to the right, they saw a huge battle taking place. Through the explosions and cries of anguish from the wounded, you could tell their was a human presence their, but a faint one. Picking up a com link, Doctor Halsey began to communicate with the candidate._

"_217, what are you doing there?"_

"_I'm helping our people Doctor. You and Hood may have lost your morals in the war, but I haven't." came the clearly angered reply._

"_217, the suit has not been tested yet. This is why we were scheduled to run the experiment, to see if it could hold up in battle. I am ordering you to return to base!" Demanded the good doctor._

"_Give all the orders you want, but I know what I am doing is right. 217 out." He said as he ended the transmission._

_Setting down the com link, Halsey looked to Hood, "Well, we will get a reading from the combat." She said sheepishly._

"_Why did he disobey a direct order? Doesn't he know how much that suit cost?" Yelled a clearly angry Lord Hood._

"_With all due respect sir, he is right. This war has not only taken lives, but its taken our innocence, our ideals. What are we fighting for if we lose our humanity in the process?"_

_-----------------_

A cold sensation rushed over Des. Although he didn't open his eyes, he knew he was inside. The chill of the wind was gone, now replaced with a warm, stagnant air. Assuming he had just been splashed with water, he called out to someone.

"Church, Tex?"

"Dessmond, are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?"

So Simmons was to blame. Checking to see if his arm was movable yet by pulling his hair out of his eyes, he found he could still move it. He wasn't sure why, maybe it was just after all those years of fighting, he needed to check every time he got smacked in the face with a frying pan. Reaching out to try and touch Simmons face, he found a coarse feeling chin. Bailing his hand into a fist, he quickly swung before Simmons could figure out what he was doing.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" He yelled.

"For hitting me in the face with a cast iron frying pan you Dick."

"It is funny because your name is Dick." Chimed in Caboose.

Getting up, Dessmond looked around the room. Both Caboose and Donut were sitting with each other and talking about god knows what. Simmons was still nursing his hurt jaw. Grif was glaring at Tucker and Sister, who were talking about something related to a turtle, a stop sign, and Sister's left armpit. Doc was talking to O'malley again, with O'malley making some very strange and evil remarks. Both Church and Tex were watching the TV for anything new. Tex was also holding my sword. My broken sword, but my sword nonetheless. Walking over to her, I yank it from her hand which elicits a very rude remark about chivalry.

"Sorry, but Z-day is about survival Tex. Gentlemen usually don't make it." I apologize.

"Well, then Church should be invincible!" She tells him.

"Tex, please. We need to talk about what happened." He told her.

Immediately, I knew what they were talking about. My little show outside was pretty self explanatory. I guess I should get ready explain my self. "Hey every one, could you come over here for a sec?" Des called to everyone in the room. Taking a seat in Simmon's recliner, Des let out a long sigh before he continued. "I'm sure everyone in blue team saw my display in the court yard?" He prodded. After a few nods from the blues, he continued, "And I'm sure you all have been told about what happened?" He asked, once again getting a round of head bobbing. Taking a deep breath, he began his tale of ascension.

-----------------

_**Kneel in silence, alone  
My spirit bares me  
Pray for guidance, towards home  
In darkest hours **_

_Getting to the top of the base was a slow and painful process. Finally reaching the summit was a huge relief for the young soldier. Gazing out to the battle, he began to calculate his odds. He was using an experimental suit that has yet to be tested, along with a highly lethal sword never before used. He was out numbered, out gunned, and was low on ammo having only one clip for both his SMG's and only a few more for his Pistols. He didn't expect to survive, but he was okay with that._

_**Kneel (dream within dream we travel)**_

_**In silence (empires of faith unravel)  
Alone (sealed with our virtues' treasures)  
Kingdoms falling  
Down (who's hand commands this thunder)  
In silence (cry as we're torn asunder)  
Alone (unto what gods do I call?)  
Protect us in our**_

_Rushing down the huge group of containers in the loading dock to help the remaining human forces, he spited something small and ragged. Hopping down from the container, he saw it was the flag pole. It must have been blow off of the stand at the front of the base from a wraith mortar blast. Picking it up, he began to walk down the cold, steel docking bay. Reaching the door, he could hear the cries of anguish from the remaining marines much more clearly. However, while slowly dying, the sounds of fighting and war cry's far outweighed the sounds of dying humans. Slowly marching past the small groups of marines manning the back lines, as he past them, they turned from their duties and began to whisper of hope._

_**Fall, Away, My soul wandered**_

_**Borne by grace, I flew on High**_

_**Sheltered, From this thunder**_

_**Calling heaven...**_

_As he reached the front of the base, standing inches from the flag pole's place, all fighting had stopped. The sound of Machine Guns fire had be silenced, as their operators were waiting to see what he would do. The balls of super heated plasma had ceased firing, now only the hissing of the cool down mechanisms could be heard. Gazing out into the battle field, and possible grave, he raised his hands above his head, and slammed the flag into it's spot. As it struck, he launched himself over the crude barricade the marines had made, flinging himself into the legion of alien lifeforms. Unsheathing his SMG's, he checked all systems once more including the new shield technology that was going to be tested. Satisfied, he simply waited for himself to fall to the ground and into the hell that awaited him._

_**Take me away from Time and Season**_

_**Far, Far away we'll sing with reason**_

_**Prepare our throne of stars above me  
As the world once known will leave me **_

_Feeling the ground under his feet, he activated the cybernetic implants in his legs, allowing him to bulldoze through the line of grunts ahead of him. As he ran, he released his two wrist blades. Hearing the sounds of dying grunts was so satisfying. Once he reached the end of the line, he grabbed the two SMG's hanging by the straps and proceeded to mow down the rest of the grunts in one fatal clip. Once completed, he dropped the weapons and turned to face the rest of the army before him. Allowing a smirk to grace his lips, he charged while firing his twin pistols._

_**Take me away upon a plateau  
Far, far away from fears and shadow  
Strengthen my heart in times of sorrow  
Light the way to bright tomorrows **_

_From behind the barricade, the marines were beginning to gain a second wind. They began organizing weapons and turning over the flipped warthogs. On the field, he was fighting like a Spartan. Downing another jackal, he dropped another empty clip. Turning on the Elite behind him, he bashed him in the head with the but of his pistol. As the Elite staggered back a few feet, he swung a blade at the alien. The wrist blade was proving effective. As the Elite fell, he dodged a few more plasma bolts being fired at him. Turning back to the dead jackal he had killed just seconds ago, he removed the arm band shield. Using it to momentarily stop the barrage, he rewired it to the main reactor of him suit. Finishing just in time, the shield became nearly impregnable._

_**Answer our call in desperate hours  
Shelter our fall from earthly powers  
Temper our souls with flame and furnace  
Bear us toward a noble purpose **_

_Pushing on toward the back line of defense, he could see a large pair of beast coming towards him. Slowing himself until he was still, he witnessed the mightiest of all Covenant warriors, Hunters. Standing at eleven feet tall, they were the most intimidating sight of all the Covenant. Moving as one, the pair moved in to strike with their shields. Bringing his own up, he prayed he would be strong enough to hold his own. As metal met plasma, the beast jumped back. The other tended to his mate, giving him enough time to dash around them and deliver a few quick stabs. Hollering in an unrecognizable language, they both fell to the ground, defeated by the Spartan._

_**Heaven hides nothing in its measure  
Mortal men blinded by false treasure  
Formless and vanquished we shall travel  
Shield and sword will guide our battle **_

_Abandoning his empty pistols, he reached for the sword hanging from his hip. Running to a large group of Elites, he began to disembowel them. Deflecting a few bolts from a stray plasma pistol, he lunged for the commander's neck. Decapitating the commander and swinging at another, he had nearly defeated the entire front lines. Then the Brutes came. Lumbering a few feet taller than the Elites, these apes were nowhere near as tactical as the Elites, but they made up for it in brute force. Bringing his shield up to defend himself, he was unprepared for the needles from the special weapons they were using. Phasing the shield completely, it struck him square in the chest causing him to tumble back. Thinking this was the end, he thanked what ever higher power their was for a chance to save some of these men. Closing his eyes, he waited for the finishing blow, but it never came. Opening them, he saw a group of marines forming a protective barrier around him. Turning around, he saw the remaining forces coming to join the fight, along with a few Warthogs._

_**Take me away from time and season  
Far, far away we'll sing with reason  
Prepare a throne of stars above me  
As the world once known will leave me **_

_One Warthog stopped right in front of him, and a man with a captain insignia hopped out of the passenger seat. He wore an air of superiority. Walking over to the young soldier, he looked him up and down, and simply nodded his head. 'I don't know who you are son, but you have my eternal support and thanks. You want a lift back to base to restock?" He questioned. "No." Was all he said before he jumped out to the field again. Landing in the middle of a huge power struggle, he noticed a large group of brutes were standing right next too large canisters of grunt methane gas. Grabbing a plasma grenade from the ground, he primed and threw the small grenade. The brutes looked down and simply stared until the thing went off._

_**Take me away upon a plateau  
Far, far away from fears and shadow  
Strengthen my heart in times of sorrow  
Light the way to bright tomorrows **_

_Running over to a wraith firing mortars at pinned down marines, he hopped on the from of the tank and stabbed the mini guns operator. Punching the hatch enough to get a hold on it, he tore it off and grabbed a frag from his belt and threw it inside. Hopping off and running away from the impeding explosion, he unfortunately ran right into a pack of Chieftain brutes. Two of them were using brute plasma rifles while the head chieftain brandished a large hammer with an ax on the back of it. Barking an order at the other two, he said something along the lines of back off. Seeing as how both brutes were directly next to me, I fired my wrist blades out of their holders and into the necks of the brutes._

_**Heaven hides nothing in its measure  
Mortal men blinded by false treasure  
Formless and vanquished we shall travel  
Shield and faith will guide our battle **_

_The chieftain, now enraged at my lack of honor, charged at me. Bringing my sword up to counter his hammer, it took all my strength and the suits amplifiers to be able to withstand it. Finally releasing his hold on me, he raised his hammer for another attack. Using his small frame and speed to the advantage, he ran around and jumped his back. But, before he could bring the sword up and impale the ape, he was thrown off. Landing in a pile of jackal shields, he grabbed another and brought it up to defend against another swing. Losing the shield for a moment, he rolled to avoid another swing. Seeing his sword a few feet away, he made a dash for it. However, as he drew closer to it, the chieftain managed to hit him square in the chest with the ax side of sword. Going through the suit and hitting the bone, the chieftain gave an evil grin and began to slam him into the ground. After four slams, the ape kicked him in the chest, causing him to fly backward and into another group of brutes. As they moved in for the kill, the chieftain barked to stay away from his prize. Still barely breathing, the chieftain lifted the half dead Spartan to eye level and spoke to him, "Well human, I must admit you were a grand warrior, but still nothing compared to the might of the Brute clans." This raised a round of cheers and roars. "Before I kill you and take your head, have you any last words?" He questioned. The Spartan managed to reach his helmet, and remove it. While he did this, he silently turned the HUD camera back on. He looked into the eyes of his killer and said in a weak voice, "Warthog." The brutes merely laughed, unaware of the Warthog heading right for their group._

_**Salvation comes in desperate hours  
Angels on high proclaim these powers  
Lead us from chaos we shall follow  
Bear us to a bright tomorrow **_

_The captain from before drove right into the chieftain, slamming the ape into the windshield. The Spartan ironically fell into the passengers seat. The marine on the gunner immediately opened fire on the remaining brutes. As he did so, the captain looked up and saw long-swords and pelicans flying over head. He looked over to the Spartan and saw a gruesome sight. His face was bloody and mauled from the pile drives he had received, and what little bit of armor was still their didn't hide the broken bones and nearly completely open chest. He turned tail immediately and radioed for a medic to be ready. Taking no more than five minutes to get back to base, he saw a man in admiral's clothing standing next to a woman and an entire med team. He slowed down and called over the med team to retrieve the casualty. The woman and med team rushed the Spartan onto a pelican and immediately took off for a ship in orbit, ready to rush him to immediate surgery. The admiral walked up to the captain and asked, "Name and Rank son?" The reply, "Sir, Captain Joel Haymen Sir!" He saluted. "Do you know who that was Captain?" The admiral questioned. "No Sir, is he important?" The admiral looked at the retreating pelican and said, "He may the best damned hope this war has."_

_-----------------_

"During the course of the war, I attained the name, 'The General'. Me and chief were always fighting along side each other. I was even with him and The Arbiter when they activated the replacement ring on the Ark." Des finished.

With nearly everyone staring, except Caboose and Donut who were busy discussing cinnamon buns, the room was silent. Tex finally worked up the nerve to ask, "You were the General?! How come you never told us this?" Des looked at her and said, "What was I supposed to say, 'Hey guys, I'm Caboose's older brother Dessmond, also know as the General. I am as famous as the Chief.'"

"Uh, guys, the zombies are getting closer." Grif informed.

"Maybe we could ask them to leave us alone nicely?" Doc asked.

"Or, maybe we could take a power drill and devour their eyes and scoop out their nooses with a spoon! Muw Ha Ha!" O'malley chimed in.

"This is going to be a long day." Des said.


	4. Do you know the Juggernaut Man

A/N: TODAY IS THE PREMIER OF RvB REVALATIONS!!! At least, I hope it is and not some April fool's joke. I wanted to add this earlier but I am the type of writer who has the begining and ending done first, but the middle is always lacking. Sorry! This chapter will focus on the two teams splitting up and the trek to the bar. Captain Flowers also makes an appearance. No song today, but next chapter will feature a song.

* * *

Bungie, RT, and whoever made Shaun of the Dead owns everything but Des.

* * *

"Okay, lets go over the plan one more time," I started, "Tex?"

"I'll take Simmons, Grif, Sister, and Donut to the NAPD (New Austin Police Department, Texas) and see if we can get a working ship. If that doesn't work, we will try and make contact with the UNSC on the Cairo." Tex continues.

"Meanwhile, myself and Des will take Caboose, Tucker and Doc with us to the bar Des has his cache at. We just hole up their and keep it as a fall back position if Tex's Team fails." Church finishes.

"Hey guys, a huge fucking tank rolled into the parking lot!" Grif yelled.

As everyone ran over to see the tank, I take one look at it and realize it's an APC. We see it lower it's back ramp and several armored men run out and begin to clear the courtyard of all zombies. I glance around to see the hopeful faces of my friends and realize that Donut isn't their.

"Uh, guys, where is Donut?" I question.

Everyone turns to me, then down to the APC. We see Donut walking up what we can only assume is the commander. Tucker gives an annoyed sigh and heads down to get him. When he got down to the courtyard, he saw a whole slew of dead zombies, with marines standing over them making sure they were dead with the double tap method. As Tucker reaches Donut, he realizes that he knows the commander a little too well.

"Donut, why the hell did you leave without telling anyone. We thought the zombies had got...Captain Flowers? Is that you?"

"Well well, if it isn't private Tucker. How have you been private?" questioned Flowers.

"Pretty good, you know, Zombie Apocalypse aside. But what about you, we saw you get shot by Wyoming at Blood Gulch?"

"Well private, you see, my body's allergy to aspirin apparently had some type of parasitic effect th-"

"You have no fucking clue do you?"

"Not in the slightest. Your friend here is very kind though. In fact, I was just about to tell him the secret cure we have to save all the infected zombies. Would you like to hear it?"

"What?! Of course I would, what is it?"

"Great, because I'm just, about, to tell you."

"..."

"..."

"Well, what's the deal?"

"It seems my body has a problem with taking long periods of time to answer important ques-"

Just then, a zombie came up a started to chew on Flowers brain. Apparently, while not as smart as the flood, these zombies understood the idea of using sewers to get their pray. Captain Flowers and his team did not think of checking the sewers...now they are dead...kinda stupid. Anyway, Tucker and Donut came screaming like little girls (most notably Donut) back into the elevator. Running back into the room, they both took a minute to catch their breath, then explained the situation to the rest of us. No one was that surprised that Flowers died before we could get the cure.

"Well, that was pointless." I state most obviously.

Taking a few minutes to rework our plan, we decided to just take the APC to the NAPD, drop off Tex's team, then head over to the Wanchester to get my cache. As we got ready and gathered our supplies, I was surprised to see that Simmons kept most of his weapons. How he smuggled them, was beyond me.

"Alright guys, this is not like anything else we have ever faced. I've fought in the great war, you all have taken down project freelancer, but everything else before this has been nothing if we don't survive. People need Generals, Leaders, Ambassadors, Kiss-asses, apathetic fat-asses, what ever the hell Donut is. They ne-"

"All right, we get it Des, lets just go. This pep talk is starting to sound like a eulogy." Church yelled.

"Sorry." I said.

With Simmons, Tex, and myself leading the way down to the APC, we were glad that most of the zombies were still dead. The few that were still alive, were immobile thanks to Flowers now dead men. As we loaded into the APC, Church and I grab as many rifles and clips we could. Salvaging three rifles and around twenty clips, we head into the tank. As I step in, I realize this was a former Wolverine anti-air tank that has been refitted to be an APC. I see a whole side of the tank was covered in communication equipment and sensors. The sides of the tank had two Mgs that could be used to fend of the Zombies, as well as a heavy turret on the top.

"This is fucking awesome!" I hear Simmons yell.

"Yeah, this thing is top of the line bad ass. So, who knows how to drive an APC?" I questioned.

No one raised their hand, except Caboose.

"Caboose is not driving." Demanded Church.

"Why not, you afraid he's gonna kill with the radio?" I ask.

"No, I'm afraid he's going to find a way to kill me with a radio." He said, "Tex, I thought you could drive a tank?"

"Freelancer only covered main line vehicles. This thing is was to old for me to drive." She said.

"Okay, well, I guess me and Simmons will drive." I say, "Simmons, come on."

Following me into the cock pit, we are amazed to find it pretty simple. The conventional levers and buttons that would normally be found on a Scorpion, had been replaced with a simplified Warthog configuration. In fact, it looked a lot like a civilian truck. I take the main seat, while Simmons takes the co-pilot seat. We both found a pair of head sets and tune them to the correct frequencies and then we start moving. After getting a feel for it, the driving is really easy for a tank. Looking ahead, we both see a whole street full of zombies right outside the parking lot. I look at Simmons and we both grin like kids in a candy store.

"Hey Simmons, you ever play Carmeggedon?" I ask.

"Nope, but I bet It doesn't have anything on this!" He replies.

We gun it and hit the horde dead on. The unlucky few that were directly in front were torn to shreds the instant they impacted. The others who were on the side were ripped in half, leaving a nice red paint job on the tank. As we drive through the rest we start to see limbs on the windshield so I turn on the wipers. Or, I thought I turned on the wipers. I actually activated the plow for winter terrain, which only made the ordeal all the more gruesome. We plow through the final zombie and both Simmons and I look out the rear view mirrors and smile at our handy work.

Then, we see it. A huge lumbering titan of a zombie. Over eighteen feet tall and bulbous like a cancerous tumor. With two tentacles over four feet long spanning out from it's mid-section, we stop.

"Simmons, take the wheel." I tell him.

"What do you want me to do about the huge fucking zombie in front of me!" He yells.

"I'll take care of that, just stay close enough to it so I can shoot it." I command him.

Walking out of the cockpit, the rest of the guys look at me with confused looks. I ignore them and climb up the ladder leading to the turret. Reaching it, I find a semi-comfortable half dome like seating. Seeing as it is hooked up like the Warthog's turret, I should have unlimited ammo. I hit the gas valve to start the engine of the gun, hearing a resounding hum of power. I yell down to Simmons to start driving and soon, I'm face to face with the abomination of nature. I slam the triggers down and let loose a barrage of death.

The monster swings it's huge tentacles at us but Simmons see's them coming and skids to a halt before we hit them. Making a U-Turn, he speeds off in another direction. I yell down, "Why the hell did we turn around?"

"Because, that thing didn't want to play nice and I had no interest in becoming a mound ground beef." He replies, "Besides, with it's size It shouldn't be able to follow us."

"Simmons, these things were made to bring down Forerunner Star-ships! The damn thing has a jumping span of four football fields!" I warn him.

He simply keeps on driving. I look out the window, and thankfully, the monster didn't follow us. As Simmons takes a turn down a side road leading to the police station, I head down to see how everyone's doing. Church and Tex are talking civilly for once while monitoring the sensors. Tucker, Grif, and Sister are arguing about something that has to do with a tire, a window pane, and a DeLorean. Caboose and Donut are once again talking about pastries and hand cream...not what you think. Doc is doing some deep breathing exercises to help control O'Malley.

I lean over to glance at our position, "So, only three more blocks before we split up?"

"Yep, but don't worry, these idiots at least have guns." Tex says, "We should be fine."

I sit back down in the cockpit and notice Simmons looking a lot less nervous. "Hey, Simmons you okay?" I ask, "You seem a lot better now. Not as jittery or anxious."

"Well, as much of a shocker it was, I think it helped all our nerves once we found out who you were." He replied, "To be honest, I don't feel scared in the least now that your here."

"Uh, Simmons, if your coming on to me I want dinner first." I say, "Besides, I've been here all the time, but that never helped at all before?"

"Yeah, but inspiration is everything." He says, "When you were dug up with the Arbiter in the Dawn, Humanity felt like they won."

"Didn't we?" I questioned.

"Yeah, but with half the population gone, plus our second largest continent being over run by flood. If that didn't put your spirits down, I don't know what will." He continued, "Bottom line, the People need their champions. They need people who are willing to stand up and take the sword and lead the masses to battle. Though you may not realize it Des, you are a Champion."

By the time he was done, I felt like crying. Now that is a hard thing to do to a battle hardened war hero. But, before I could say anything else, the NAPD building came into site.

"Well, we're here." I say.

I turn to leave the cabin and see all of my friends and fellow soldiers ready for battle. Tex had distributed Simmons' Weapons accordingly. Both Tex and Grif had Rifles, with Simmons coming from behind me to get the last Rifle. Donut had a Pistol, no doubt Tex's, and was Talking to Caboose. I walk over to Tex to prepare good byes.

"Tex, you ready?" I ask.

"You can't be ready for this." She replies.

"Just promise you'll try to be safe." I hear Church say.

"I'll try Church."

I walk over to the armored door and hit the handle to release it. Hearing the door lower, I stand back. The Red's and Tex move over to the door, rifles at the ready, for whatever may come. As the door came down, we saw that nothing was their. Tex signals for the Reds to follow her, her taking the front, Simmons and Grif taking the rear...Ha, rear. With Sister and Donut in the center, Church and I give one last wave good bye before we seal up the tank.

"Well Church, come on. I need a Co-Pilot." I say to him.

We both walk back to the cabin and see the Tex's team enter the police station. I hit the ignition and rev the engines. Church turns the lights on and checks the rest of the instruments, with a little assistance from me, and we start to drive away.

THUD!

"What the hell was that?" Church asks.

I look out the windshield and see two large, bulky tentacles slithering down the front of the tank. I immediately recognize it.

"Well fuck."


	5. One Gun to Win Them All

"Oh fuck."

What else could I say? When you see a Juggernaut staring you down from across the street, not a lot comes to mind. After crashing down on the APC, which had miraculously survived the impact with the horrid abomination, it flew across to the other side of the street, with a huge group of "Associates" surrounding him.

"Church, take the wheel." I tell him.

"What are you going to do?" he asks.

"Whatever I have to. If that monster figures out that Tex's team is in their, we're all shit out of luck."

I leave the cabin and grab one of the pistols from Flower's dead team. I see Tucker and Doc look at me with faces of shock and horror. Probably not for me, but more for the protection I offer. I turn to them, "You two, man the turrets. Caboose?" I turn around to face my little brother.

"Hello Dessmond!" He cries, cheerful as ever.

"Do you still have the book?" I ask.

He turns around to grab the book resting on the computer next to him. He returns to me and hands it to me. I flip it open to the index to search for the "Heavy Section". Pg. 235...Ah, Tanks, Carriers, Juggernauts. I turn a few more pages to find the Juggernaut section. It read as follows; "Juggernaut forms are a clear sign of organization among the undead. The lumbering behemoth has a small amount of telepathy, much like a hive mind intelligence. Be aware! Juggernauts have the ability to decimate a whole infantry division in a matter of minutes."

Special Abilities; "With their long tentacles, they have an impressive attack range. Long range weapons such as sniper rifles and grenades are preferable. It has the ability to jump nearly 4 football fields so be on the watch for aerial attacks."

Weaknesses; "No known weaknesses have been documented on this particular zombie. Many personal survivors have said that the main brain is somewhere near the upper right tentacle, however, this is an unconfirmed claim."

I close the book and grab another weapon, this time a sniper rifle. Unfortunately, it only has one clip so I'll have to be extremely careful with my shots. I check my blades and find they are functioning perfectly. After checking my ammo and my weapons once more, I find I'm ready to go. I check to see if the others were listening to my instructions. Both Tucker and Caboose have taken the side turrets with Doc on the heavy Mg up top. I look back towards the cabin and see Church waiting for me to give him the signal. I call, "Church lower the door." He complies. "Church, just make sure you keep a good few hundred feet away from him." I yell over the new sounds of moaning from the horde of zombies. He nods and I get the affirmation.

As I'm about to jump, I remember a song from basic I used to listen to. (Coheed and Cambria; Welcome Home)

I hop out and ready my now broken sword. Pistol in my left hand, sword in my right, I charge the horde. I start by severing a random zombie's arm, and swing into an arc, eliminating another two zombie heads. A quick stab to the eye eliminates another, then another. By this time, I have already gained the undivided attention of the masses, thus allowing Church to get a safe distance away and charge the horde. I dive into another crowd of undead and fire my pistol while attacking another in the stomach.

_**You could have been all I wanted,**_

_**But you weren't honest now get in the ground.**_

_**You chocked off the surest of flavors,**_

_**But If you really loved me,**_

_**You would have endured my world.**_

Thousands more flood into my field of vision. My mind is now in full combat mode, "Stab left, two shots forward. Empty clip, reload while keeping sword to chest. Cock pistol, wide arc right. Repeat."

Any one viewing my spectacle would assume that I was high on crack at the rate I was moving. Another group of four falls to my blade, while another two get double tapped in the chest from my gun.

_**Well if your just as I presumed,**_

_**Your a whore in sheep's clothing**_

_**Fucking up all I do.**_

_**And if so here we stop,**_

_**Then never again,**_

_**Will you see this in your life.**_

Church and the APC are keeping the Juggernaut busy while I continue to thin out the Horde. Another burst of gun fire and I have a clear line to mister tentacles'. As I dash through, I feel a small hand grasp my ankle. Looking down I see a small zombie ready to bite my leg. Both on the unknown premise that I may get infected, and it would hurt like hell, I decapitate the damned creature. While I took time to deal with him, I now notice a thin line of zombies guarding their hive mind master. I switch my pistol to full auto and unleash hell on the wall of meat sacks.

_**Hang on to the glory at my right hand,**_

_**Here laid to rest is our love ever longed,**_

_**With truth on the shores of compassion,**_

_**You seem to take premise to all of these songs.**_

I finally get to the Juggernaut and realize just how massive this beast is. Even a Spartan like myself would feel intimidated by the massive giant, reigning over you like the hand of god...or Satan in this case. However, the key word in that sentence was "would". I then shake myself from my thoughts and notice the other lesser zombies have backed away from me and Juggy. Church sees me in the clearing and tries to get closer, when a huge tentacle comes crashing down on him. I rush over and begin to hack and cut at the offending appendage until finally it falls to the earth very ungracefully.

_**You stormed off to scar the armada,**_

_**Like Jesus played letters,**_

_**Now drill through your hands.**_

_**The stone for the curse you have blamed me,**_

_**With love and devotion,**_

_**I'll die as you sleep.**_

I manage to take a quick look to check for major damages before Juggy wraps what remains of his demonic arm around my person. He lifts and throws me across the street. I thank the UNSC for the augmentations they put me through so I could get up with no broken bones. I grab my sword and let Juggy reach for me again. As he gets closer, I stab his nub of an arm and climb onto his back. He doesn't like that and immediately begins to thrash. I hang on for dear life because, augmentations or not, falling from this high up would seriously fuck me up. I manage to get a good foot hold on his back and raise my sword to strike at the upper right shoulder where the alleged weak point is supposed to be. I stab it and...nothing happens. "MOTHERFUCKER!" I scream, mad as all hell.

_**But if you could just write me out,**_

_**To never less wonder,**_

_**Happy will I become.**_

_**Be true that this is no option,**_

_**So with sin I condemn you,**_

_**Demon pray Demon out.**_

While it didn't hurt like I thought It would, it still gave him a good dose of pain because right after I cursed the damned book, he shook me off. I managed to stab the sword into its back and slow my descent while tearing a nice sized hole in his spine. This time, I get an unearthly howl of pain from the demon and another flailing of the limbs. This time I fall all the way to the ground, which wasn't very far.

_**Hang on to the glory at my right hand,**_

_**Here laid to rest is our love ever longed,**_

_**With truth on the shores of compassion,**_

_**You seem to take premise to all of these songs.**_

By this time, the APC and Church have started to tear up the regulars like a cat with wrapping paper. I see them drive behind the Juggernaut and unleash fire from the twin side turrets. I could have sworn I heard O'malley cackling from the upper turret, clearly enjoying the massacre he had the pleasure of being a part of. I think I may have to up the ante a little. I focus on my implants and they activate with a lite hiss. I ready my self for a jumping attack with my sword.

_**One last kiss for you,**_

_**One more wish to you,**_

_**Please make up your mind girl,**_

_**I'd do anything for you.**_

I fly through the air and meet the monster head on, literally. I grip his face and begin to empty the rest of my pistol right at point blank range. More howls of agony and flailing of the limbs, except this time, he can't hurt me without hurting himself. As I fire off the last bullet, I drop the weapon down ten feet to the pavement. I then proceed to cut the devil spawn with close range arcs spanning nearly his entire face. I get the wonderful sound of him crying for his momma, only now, he doesn't care if he hits himself in the face and manages to wipe me off his face.

_**One last kiss for you,**_

_**One more wish to you,**_

_**Please make up your mind girl,**_

_**Before I hope you die.**_

I get a huge nub of a tentacle in my face and get wiped of the monster like he was wiping sweat from his face. As I fall, I realize that I may not be getting back up from this fall, considering that the horde has taken their masters screams of agony as a sign to swarm around me and devour me whole. I realize this is the end...or would have been. It just so happens, Armored Personal Carriers are much speedier than I initially thought. So quick in fact, that my falling form slammed into the top of one. As Church spun around so Tucker and Caboose could get a better shot at them. I manage to get up and make my way over to Doc's bubble like fortress. I tap on the glass to see if he can unlock it from the inside...he can't. So, I do the next best thing.

Thud...thud...CRACK!

"Son of a Bitch!" Cried a very flustered Doc.

"Calm down you big baby, they can't climb this thing so long as we're moving." I explain.

I make my way down to Church and find him turning the wheel every which way just to keep the zombies off of us. I take a seat next to him and begin to scan the instruments. I take a mental note of all buttons before I head back out.

'Headlights...Ignition...20mm...Speedometer...Wait, 20mm?'

Sure enough, there is a button marked 20mm right on the dash. I push the button and a small targeting computer pops up right out of the dash board. Then, a turret control pad springs from the glove box and presents it self to me, an open invitation to start blowing the shit out of everything in sight. I turn to Church who has by now, seen the miracle from above.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" He asks.

"Oh Yeah!"

Church stops spinning and turns out of the horde. He makes a 180 turn and faces the Juggernaut. We just wait. Everything is quiet, the moans of the horde have died and the engine of the tank itself has quieted at the epicness of the upcoming confrontation. Church slams both the gas and the break...I ready the 20mm...Tucker, Caboose and Doc have gathered the cabin in preparation for the spectacular show about to occur. It seems like an eternity until the beast finally lets out a feral cry. Church releases his hold on the break and we fly through the infected minions like a knife through warm butter. I look at the range. Only a few more yards. We get in range and as I fire I give one last taunt to Juggy.

"Take this you big fuckin ZIT!"

I fire.

Now, I know the beast wasn't capable of human speech, but I could have sworn I heard him say right before the shell hit him, "Son of a Bitch." Oh well, doesn't matter now. As the shell impacted, it left nothing left but the green puss of the once mighty Juggernaut on our windshield. Church just kept driving though, not caring where we were going. I push the 20mm button again to return the controls to it's rightful place. I slump in my chair and just let out a huge sigh. I look behind me to see everyone just staring at me. Finally, Tucker yells, "THAT WAS AWSOME!"

I have to agree with him.


	6. Panic on the streets of Austin

Finally some peace and quite. It has been a long day and now that the Juggernaut is dead, I can finally get some well deserved rest. At the moment, Church and Caboose have switched places. Caboose is probably one of the best drivers I've ever known. Thanks to his ability to not think about anything, it makes his concentration on the road so much better than others. I already told him where to go so now all we have to do is just sit back and relax.

"So Tucker, there has been something I've wanted to ask you for a while now. I know this may not be the best time, but we may not get another chance and I've wanted to know this for almost my whole life." I tell him. "What is it dude?" He replies. "You have to promise you won't get mad." I counter. "I promise. Just ask me." He responds. "Okay," I take a breath and ask the one question every white man wants to ask but can't, "Can I say the N word just once?"

At that moment, for the first time since I've known him, Tucker looks genuinely ready to kill me. "You want to say WHAT?" He yells. "Please just once!" I respond, "If the world ends, I just need to say it once and my life will be complete." I beg and pleaded. "You do not use that word EVER! THAT IS OUR WORD AND YOUR KIND CAN NEVER USE IT." At this point Doc tries to step in and defuse the situation, "Fellows, can't we all just get along?" We both just stare at him for a second...then Tucker starts to advance on him. I can see Doc pee his pants and immediately try to calm Tucker down, or at least get him to not kill Doc.

"Whoa Tucker, Doc didn't ask you the question, I Did. Leave him alone." I step in between the two and get ready for the blow that I was sure to follow...but nothing happened. I look at Tucker and see him visibly calmer. I ask him, "Are you okay now?" To which he replies a quiet, "yeah." I give a small nod to Doc and we both go to sit down. Not a smart move on my end. As It so happens, Tucker was waiting for that and ready his fist to slam right into my...teabags. I have had many things happen to me during my time in the war; I've had plasma pour onto my bare skin, my bones broken one at a time, even get my left arm cut off by an Elite's energy sword, having to get it flash-cloned and then surgically reattached. But nothing will ever come close to the pain a man receives when getting punched in the testicles.

"That's for asking about the N word you stupid bitch." He shouts. I double over in pain and just stay there for a few seconds, just letting the pain subside. When I stand up I see Tucker stick his hand out in an offer of apology. I shake it firmly and see his face soften considerably. "No hard feelings dude." He says. "Easy for you to say." I reply. Right as I sit down, I feel the truck stop. I get back up and head to the cabin to see what was wrong. I am greeted with the sight of Church yelling at my little brother...again.

"Caboose I'm telling you, the E means empty!" Church snaps.

"What if it stands for Exceptional amount of gas?" Caboose offers.

"It doesn't! Why would we be stopped if it meant that?" Church retaliates.

"It could be so exceptional, that the engine broke." Caboose responds.

"Hey, Lovebirds." I call. I get a very annoyed Church glaring at me. "As much as this conversation interest me, we need to get moving." With that, both Caboose and Church get up at the same time earning a angered growl from Church. We gather the weapons and find we only have our melee weapons left, along with my sniper rifle. I hit the door release button and nothing happens. I press it again...same result.

"Damn, looks like were going out the gunner seat." I turn around and notice everyone already gone. I make my way over to the ladder but stop and grab the book. "Can't forget this." I say to myself. I proceed to make my up to the gunner seat and climb out the broken glass dome. As I get out, I realize the way Caboose took to get to the bar, took us through the rich neighborhood. I see the others gathering in front of a huge locked gate. I make my way over and begin to pick up on the conversation already in progress.

"It's locked Caboose, we can't just open it. We need a key." I hear Tucker explain. Already I have my blade sliding out of my wrist. When I get up to the gate I start to pick the lock. While I'm in the process of picking said lock, I feel a small amount of weight being shifted from my shoulder. "Don't touch the sniper rifle Tucker." I say. "Fuck!" Was his reply.

I Finish the lock picking and we head in, vigilante of our surroundings. I took the lead with my rifle at the ready. Doc and Caboose are behind me, with Church and Tucker bringing up the rear. "Church, Tucker, don't let your guard down. These zombies seem to have an increased intelligence which means that they could come from any where." I tell them. "They already come from everywhere dipshit." I hear Church respond in a angered whisper. As we continue to move through the grounds of the mansion, we begin to hear noises coming from inside the mansion. The sounds of glass breaking and furniture being smashed becomes loud enough that we have to move away from the windows just to remain hidden.

Finally, we come upon the backyard. With an Olympic sized pool and a huge pool house, this place looked very inviting to say the least. "Couldn't we just wait at the pool house?" Asks Doc. A few seconds after he says that, a loud gunshot and screams were heard. "You wanna go there, be my guest." I tell him. We slow our speeds when we realize that the huge stone wall prevents anymore progress. I have to admit, the wall was spectacular. Nearly twelve feet tall. Whoever built this wanted absolute privacy. "What do we do now?" Asks a panic stricken Doc. I take a look at the wall and notice some cracks and empty spots where I could climb. I fasten the straps on my sniper and begin stretching myself for the long and painful climb about to take place.

"Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to climb the wall and get a bit of an idea of what were facing. Afterward, we'll just break down the wall and head over to the bar." I finish, noticing the few skeptical eyes watching me. Finally, after a few minutes of an awkward silence, Church steps forward, "That's all fine and dandy Des, but how do you know the bar is through this wall?" I begin to answer, only to be cut off by Tucker, "Yeah, and your assuming that we can fight off the zombies and get in there without attacking the horde." As he finishes, Caboose jumps in and begins to ask even more questions, "And what about the orange juice? I want orange juice!" I get fed up and shout, "ENOUGH WITH THE QUESTIONS!" That shut everyone up. "Firstly Church, I know the bar is behind this wall because every time I come here, I pass this mansion. Secondly Tucker, the zombies won't present a problem. Trust me. Thirdly Caboose, they have orange juice and you can have as much as you want when we get there."

With everyone quiet, I turn and begin my ascent. Half way up, a brick falls out from beneath my hand. "Look out!" I call. I don't hear any cursing or swearing so no harm done. I make it to the top after a few more minutes of climbing and am astounded at what I saw. Hundreds, Thousands of zombies line the streets. Way too many for my rag tag group. Even with the amount of zombies, I still stick with my initial plan. I begin climbing down and notice everyone eagerly awaiting my news. I hop down and look at them as though I wasn't disturbed by what I saw. I begin to explain my plan, "Okay Church, everyone, listen up. Me and Caboose are going to break down this wall. After we do, everyone run across the street. Just ignore the few zombies. Once your at the bar, go around to the left side, you should find a set of stairs. Go down them and you'll find an electronic lock. Enter 217 into the key pad and then lock the door behind you." Church looks at me and ask, "What are you gonna do?" I stare him dead in the eye and say, "I'm going to distract the zombies." I get a nod and move over to the wall.

I hand my little brother a shovel from the garden to my right. I take my sniper rifle and with him, begin to pound at the wall. I look over to him and he is still smiling, clearly not affected by this gloomy setting. "Hey Caboose, how you doing?" I ask in between hits. "I am very happy that we have not been eaten yet. Also, Church is being nicer to me." I look at him strangely. "Caboose, he just yelled at you not ten minutes ago." He just shrugs, "That's okay. I know he is still my best friend." Church hears us and is quick to chime in, "Caboose, I have never, and never will be your best friend." I get a little mad at Church and was about to chastise him, but the wall gave way just then.

Thousand of undead look over at me and my group. Everyone is frozen with shock, even me. I quickly get over my shock and run into the fray. I click the safety on my sniper off and begin to unload the clip into the air. "Hey Assholes, follow me! That's right, some nice tasty human for ya!" I yell, easily overtaking my friends as the prime cut. "Guys, get into the bar. I'll lead them off." I yell once more. I don't know why, but something doesn't feel right with this plan all of a sudden. Oh well, too late to change it now.

A/N: So, only three more chapters until the end. If your wondering about Red team and Tex, don't worry. The next chapter goes into that. As for the two after that, the first will continue what happened here, just from Church and Caboose's perspective. The final chapter will be an epilogue. Thanks for reading guys. Really, this is a blast to write and I intend to make a special thank you after the epilogue.

Remember kids, the N word is not okay to say...ever...unless your black...and I mean black black, not Carlton black...I should get ready for the hate mail shouldn't I?


	7. A Change in Perspective

A/N: I'm back all. Thanks for sticking around. Just a quick note, two people from the Blood Gulch Gang's past shows up this chapter. Sorry about the length but it was actually pretty hard to write this chapter.

"HOLD THEM BACK!" Shouted Tex over the raging roar of machine gun fire. With the hallway being so small, with little cover both of our teams were slowly pushing through the mess of zombies. Tex was taking the front with a little help from Donut's pistol. Me and Grif were holding the other zombies behind us back. Sister was just trying not to trip her stupid ass head on anything and kill us all.

We're almost to the Comm. Room. Taking nearly two hours, we've only made it half way through the base. You see back in the early 2520's the UNSC decided that due to rising crime and violence in North America all state capitals should have at least one "Stronghold". Basically, these were huge, towering structures that made up the entire state's police force. They were capable of holding close to a small cities' population, somewhere around ten to twenty thousand officers. The good news; crime and violence went down significantly. The bad news; we have to fight through this god awful infestation.

"Grif, I'm out. I need ammo." Called Tex.

"Uh..." Was the brilliant reply.

"I got ya Tex." I call as I toss a few more clips her way.

I return my attention to the steady flow of zombies in front of me. With Tex finally at the door we just have to wait for her to crack the security code. Grif calls over Donut to assist in this most important matter. With three men...well, two men and a Donut holding off the flesh sacks, Tex was able to relax enough to let us in. First Sister, then Donut screaming like a woman, then Grif and finally me through the door. Once we were through, Tex sealed the door. Although we knew we could relax due to the heavy blast door holding back our attackers, the incessant moaning from their no longer functioning vocal cords was unnerving to hear.

"Okay, new rule. Let's not go down the four by six hallway again." Grif declared.

"Well, it wasn't nearly as bad as when I joined that sorority. They said I'd only have to sleep with two guys but next thing I know, I'm half way through a horse's-"

"Don't embarrass the family!" Grif interjected quickly.

"Simmons, come here for a second." Called Tex.

I make my way over to her and find her standing in front of a huge console. She is tapping a few buttons trying to connect the the UNSC channels but is having no luck. I take a quick digital screen shot of all keys and my cyborg brain quickly comes back with a reply as to what each one does. I move my arm in front of Tex, something that would warrant a slow and painful death under other circumstances, and begin to break through the various firewalls hidden throughout the system. Tex, giving an annoyed grunt, turns around to find Grif yelling at Sister over family honor and Donut eating a doughnut lying on the table.

"Simmons, how much longer?" Grif asks.

"I don't know. I'm only past the first level of firewalls." I reply, "This is a low security console but it makes up for it with increased firewalls and security encryption. I still need to generate some random keys for the encryption process. That could take a few minutes, or a few hours."

"Well, you know what I think you should do?" He countered.

"Grif, for the last time if I have to hack the mainframe or upload a virus I will tell you!" I replied indignantly.

"Asshole."

Ignoring the idiot, I return my full focus on the console. I try to connect the the system using my cyborg up-link channel. I hear a slow dial up sound and boom, I'm connected. As I continue to manually hack the system, I try to search for any files as to what may have caused this zombpocalypse. Unfortunately, the door we all hoped would hold was starting to creak. I hear Tex yelling orders to everyone, including Sister.

"Alright, Donut, Grif you take point. Sister, you stay close to Simmons and protect him while he's working."

"Why do I have to hang out with the nerd?" She back mouthed.

Just as Tex was about to answer, the door made a sickening lurch and the indentation of a zombies body was pressed into the door. "We don't have time, just do it." Yelled Tex. I continue working as quickly as a I can, but with the frequency of these firewalls, there is no way I will be able to hack it in time. I send a quick signal to my up-link to tell the computer to download all system files so I can hack it remotely. While the files are downloading, I run over to the table and grab a SMG and a Pistol for self-defense.

"Tex!" I call.

"What?" She yells as she tries to hold the door back.

"We can go! I have remote control! Lets head for the roof!"

She immediately yells for Donut and Grif to head over to the other door and they comply almost immediately. As they dash on over, I'm almost done punching in the pass code. During my download of the files, I came across all security codes for the doors in the building. The Door Slides open and Donut and Grif head on through, taking out any of the infected in our way.

"Tex, we're clear. Let move!" I yell over the now deafening sound of the undead.

She backs away from the door and sprints through the hall with Sister following suit. Right as I get through, the blast door breaks open and flies across the room. I hit the lock down button on the door and it seals it self shut. I don't know how long it will hold, but It will at least buy us some time. I turn and run to catch up with the group to find Tex trying to bypass the door's terminal. I reach over and enter the key and the door opens instantly.

"How did you do that?" Asks Grif.

"I'm downloading the entire system, along with all codes. Right now it's only a quarter of the way done. Once it's completely downloaded I can take control of the comm. Channels and contact the UNSC." I explain.

"Did you hack the mainframe?" He asks.

I was going to yell at him but Tex beat me to it. "We don't have time for this!"

We continue this procedure for another twenty minutes. I open the doors, we hold that room for as long as we can, repeat. After the fifth room, I finally finished the download. Tapping into standard frequencies, I begin to surf the channels to see if anyone was still broadcasting in Texas...nope. How about America...nope. Finally I give up and just tap into UNSC frequencies.

"Hello, this former private Dick Simmons! Is any one their? Anyone?" I practically scream.

"Hello dude*Static*Come in*Static*Do you read me dude?"

What? Oh no.

"Hello dude, where are ya dude? I can't help ya if you don't answer. Hello?"

Goddammit.

"Vic, it's Simmons from Blood Gulch! Can you hear me?"

"Hey dude. Been trying the get a clear station. So, what's the low down boss. You need some help or somethin."

"For fuck sake Vic, theirs a Zombie Apocalypse here in Texas and we need evac! Can you help?"

"Sorry dude, all evacs are currently assisting on the the seaboards...Sucks to be you guys."

"Isn't their any military personal that could help us?"

"Let's see, Fort Hancock, nope. Fort Bradley, negative. The Alamo, yeah right. Oh, here's some one. There is a small group of soldiers near the Austin boarder. I can have them there in about thirty minutes."

"That's perfect! We're heading to the roof right now. If they have a pelican they can airlift us out."

"Sounds good dude. I will have Sargent Hullman there as soon as possible."

I was going to respond but right then, the door burst. I dropped the receiver I was holding and bolted for the door. We kept running for a good ten minutes looking for another blast door, but had no such luck. Finally Grif was fed up.

"Fuck this!" He yelled.

We all followed him and were surprised to find that he had led us to the stairwell. Though, we were even more surprised to find he BROKE DOWN THE DOOR! Grif had actually just saved our lives because the zombies were right on our tail. We all run in and begin the long, agonizing journey to the top. We were only on the sixth floor. This building had forty floors!

"Goddammit." Grif said solemnly.

* * *

"Keep it up!" Yelled Tex.

"Simmons, I'm out!" Yelled Donut.

"Me too!" Mirrored Grif.

"I dropped my gun." Cried Sister unsurprisingly.

"Simmons, how much do you have left?" Questioned Tex.

"Half a Clip!" I answered.

Just then, we heard the most beautiful sound in the world. The hum of a pelican's engines. We all spun around to see a huge pelican with it's back lowered to us. A normal grunt Marine was manning the turret and we all dove out of the way. He unleashed fire on the unsuspecting undead. After a short burst from the machine gun, the grunt called over to us.

"Are any of you named Dick Simmons?" He asked.

"I am." I answered, a bit confused as to why they needed a name.

"Someone here would like to see you. Get aboard." He called.

We all hauled ass into the bird and we took off. We all sat down, tired and exhausted. Grif and Sister were giving each other a small hug, something rare between the two. Donut was sitting next to me just staring out at the night sky. Tex was sitting on my other side, checking her gun for damages. As for me, well I had to ask the one question on my mind.

"Excuse me sir, who wanted to see me?"

Before he could answer, the door to the pilots cabin slid open. Everyone was amazed, except Grif. There stood a man dressed in full body armor, Mrk VI to be precise. With a Sargent emblem on his shoulder pad, he wore an air of 'Don't fuck with me.' But the big thing that caught everyone's attention was the color of his armor.

"Oh no, just feed me to the zombies now." Cried Grif.

"Shut it dirt-bag." Yelled Sarge.


	8. The Begining of the End

A/N: Sorry for such a long wait. Nearly a month! I know it's a long time, but with us getting a new house and me wanting to make this chapter totally epic, It had to take a while. Caboose and Church may seem a bit OOC, but it's for the emotional trauma to come. 42 wanted me to make Des have flaws, I'll do him one better! This one is from Church's perspective.

Bungie and RT own all but Des.

* * *

We just stood there, slack-jawed at the bold and potentially life threatening sacrifice Des just made. We simply watched as the massive mob of flesh eaters slowly poured down a second street, following the piper as it were. After a minute I realize that we are completely vulnerable standing out here with our thumbs up our asses. I glance over to the street the mob recently occupied and was amazed to find it completely vacant of any zombies.

"Guys focus!" I tell them in a hushed whisper in the hopes of any nearby zombie not hear me.

"Did he just..." Tucker started, trailing off into something else.

"Yeah he did and it'll be for nothing if we don't get inside." I tell them in a way so they could tell I was both annoyed and concerned.

I kept prodding them for five minutes. Lets face it, no one in this group is that fucking bright. After my last plea I decide to go for the old "Hey look over there" technique. I must say, I thought it worked pretty well.

"Guys look, a Freelancer!" I yell with extra emphasis on the Freelancer part.

Immediately everyone but Caboose, who had long since lost interest in anything, was staring at the spot I had pointed too. When they realized that there was no Freelancer, I noted that I saw him run into the bar. This got them moving pretty dam quick. I smirked at my own genius plan. That is, I kept smirking until I realized something.

"Guys, where's Caboose?" I ask with a sudden urge to find the idiot.

Normally I wouldn't care about where Caboose was or what he was doing, but if Des survives the distraction, there will be hell to pay if he comes back to find that his little brother has been devoured by the undead. Plus, and this truly kills me to say, Caboose and I have gotten closer since Blood gulch even if I won't admit it. I'm starting to find his carefree attitude and whimsical nature to be really refreshing after living with Tucker and Tex for half my life. Not to say he doesn't drive me crazy when he gets his hand caught in a pickle jar or accidentally sets off the fire alarm. But I'm getting off track. Where was I? Oh yes, Caboose being alone in the Zombie Apocalypse.

I run back up to the street from the basement level entrance to find dear old Caboose just sitting in the middle of the street, coloring with some chalk he got from god knows where, completely oblivious to the hell on earth around him. As I run over to him I start to hear the moans of the undead slowly creeping over to us. I just hope they aren't from the group that followed Des.

"Caboose c'mon man." I tell him in as patient a voice as I can muster.

"Church look!" He said, pointing excitedly to a picture of what I can only assume is a bunny. "I made a fluffy bunny!"

"Caboose, what are you talking about?" I asked amazed that even he could be so clueless. "We have to go Caboose! Right fucking now."

"Wait! I still need to make a field and a lake!" He exclaimed with delight.

"Caboose." I try again, my patience slowly slipping away.

"And then I will make a happy faced sun! With me and you stand under it holding hands with Best Friends Forever above us! Then I co-" He tried to finish.

"Caboose! Shut the FUCK UP!" I yell, finally snapping. "I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOU, OR YOUR BUNNY! SO SHUT UP, AND MOVE!"

As soon as I finished my little rant, I knew I made a big mistake. I won't deny that I hadn't been a dick to Caboose before, hell, I've even been madder at him than I am now. But something, and I don't know what, caused him to snap. Though, not in the same way I just did. For the first time since I've met Caboose, he started crying. Now I don't mean like you stub you pinky toe on the coffee table and you tear up. No, I mean full on snot bubbles bursting while you drain your body of all necessary fluids. Even more surprising was how he latched on to me and buried his head in my neck like I'm his mother. I don't claim to be an emotional guy, not by a long shot, but what Caboose said next just made me feel like the biggest asshole in the world for snapping at him.

"He's gone Church, he's really gone!" He said in between breaths. "I don't what him to leave me again. Why did he leave me? He promised that he would always protect me from the world. Now he's gone and most likely dead!"

I had never seen this much raw emotion from Caboose and to be honest, I didn't know how to handle it. He didn't say anything after that, we just stayed in the streets for a few more minutes. I just prayed I wouldn't find Des' body after this is all over and have to tell Caboose his only brother is dead. When he started to wind down from his massive wave of emotion, I said some of the things I never thought I would say.

"Caboose, I'm sorry." I told him without the slightest bit of falseness. "I didn't know what you were feeling and I shouldn't have snapped at you. Still it doesn't excuse my actions. But now I'm going to make a promise to you as your Best Friend." As soon as those words left my lips his face brightened up considerably. "I will make sure you will never be alone. I swear to you I will find Dessmond and bring his stupid ass to you so you can beat him up for breaking his promise. I also promise never to make fun of you or snap at you again. Okay."

As I'm now learning, Caboose is not the blundering idiot I thought him to be. He is an incredibly deep and emotional person underneath the happy go lucky exterior. I now realize that his happy nature is a sort of defense mechanism from the world. A safeguard for people like me and Tucker who constantly pick on him and abuse him for being who he is. After being in his mind so many times, I can't believe I never noticed this before. He pushed himself off from me and started to walk back to the others in a comfortable silence. Thank god the others can't hear my thoughts. They sound pretty gay, like me and Caboose finally realized our "True feelings for each other". I'm starting to think this is some cheesy fanfic written by Donut. Any second now I'm expecting some half naked sailors to come bursting through the street. I'm getting off track though.

Right before we turn the corner to the stair way, Caboose stops me and looks me dead in the eyes and says in a voice I immediately recognize, "And please Church, call me Michael." Caboose's inner genius* is finally coming out. We both head back down to the lower entrance where we find Tucker, Doc and O'malley arguing.

"No you fool!" O'malley shouted. "He said the code was 117!"

"I don't think so Mr. Hard Drive. Bom Chika Bow Wow!" Countered Tucker, smirking from his own joke. "The code was 721."

Just as I was about to intervene, Caboose gets in between them and enters the correct '217' code. The three of us just stare at him wondering where he got such a good memory. I shake off the surprise the quickest and follow him in. Soon the others follow and now we are all standing in a dark, damp basement. We all start to feel around for a circuit breaker. After five minutes of dismal searching, Doc finally finds one. He flips the first switch and thankfully it was a light switch. Finally getting a good look at the basement, it was rather surprising. The foundation of the whole bar was an outdated wooden structure that would normally be found in a third world country. Along with the mold covering most of the ceiling. Aside from the unique frame work and the freezer which no doubt held much of the food and drink, there was a large, red, reinforced steel door against the back wall.

Curiosity got the better of us and we all ventured over to it. Finding it vacant of any zombies or humans, we were all surprised to find a whole room full of survival gear. Small cots, pre-packaged food, a pile of ammo of all types. Hell, it even had a gun rack and what looked like an armor container. I begin to wonder, "Why would there be an armor container here?" My thought is interrupted by Tucker's shrill annoying voice.

"Who the fuck is Chicago Ted and why does he have 53,595 written underneath his name?"

"He could quite possibly be a zombie hunter and that would mean the numbers are his kills." O'malley answered.

"What's CEDA and L4D?" Asked Caboose.

"I don't know Caboose." Tucker replied.

We all head upstairs and begin to look around. It wasn't much prettier than the basement was. It seemed like it was straight out of a old 20th century western. The Bar was in a sectional fashion with it making a 90 degree turn at the middle. Multiple support beams were embedded in the floor, holding up the walkway above. I can now safely say this is the oldest bar in the world. The entire place was made of wood. No one has done this for over two hundred years. Over all, this place looked, and smelled, like shit.

"Well, what do we do now?" Questioned Doc.

Everyone just turned to look at me. This was the first time I wish they didn't look up to me as a leader.

"Well, I guess we can just sit and wait for Des to get back." I tell them, glancing over at Caboose to make sure he's okay.

"What do you mean when he gets back?" Questioned O'malley.

"I mean, we are going to be as quiet as possible and wait for Dessmond to come back." I explain to the insane program.

"You really are idiots aren't you?" O'malley began. "Why do you think he distracted the zombies?"

"So we could get inside and be safe?" Replied Tucker in an uneasy query.

"My god you are all idiots." O'malley continued. "I'll try to break this down so you insignificant brains can comprehend. Lets start from the beginning; the strongest of the group tells us a code to get into a bar, while he 'distracts' the zombies. Does anything seem wrong with that statement?"

"What are you saying O'malley?" I ask, annoyed with his seemingly pointless rant.

"Are you all blind?" He exclaimed. "He left us out to rot! That wasn't a distraction, it was desertion. The strongest doesn't leave, the weakest does. Whoever would distract them would be lost anyway. He probably tried to get away, only to run into an alley way and get cornered."

I glance over at Caboose and find him looking pretty pissed.

"O'malley." I try to warn him.

"Or maybe he tripped and was devoured in the street like a possum hit by a truck." He continued, oblivious to the upcoming attack.

"Seriously O'malley, shut the fuck up." Tucker joined in, realizing Caboose was about to blow.

"Even if he did make it, do you think he would come back for us? Three people in an apocalypse is nothing to the army. No, we are nothing to them. Or to Dessmond." O'malley said, finally finishing his tirade. Unfortunately, it came to late. Caboose was on him in an instant. I had never seen Caboose this mad before. Hell, I've never seen Des or O'malley this mad before. Tucker and I were too scared to even intervene at first. Caboose was beating the shit out of poor Doc, O'malley having retreated into the recesses of the former medic's mind. Caboose just kept pummeling him, yelling, "He will come back!" over and over again. After about the fifth blow to the temple, Tucker and I finally got Caboose off of Doc.

"What was that for?" Questioned an extremely bruised Doc.

"Sorry Doc. It was O'malley. He was saying things about my brother I did not appreciate." Caboose answered in a most logical and calm manner, which was a complete change from the enraged person who was there just moments ago.

"Tucker, you help Doc up and over to one of the booths." I order. "Caboose, help me look for any weapons."

With Tucker helping Doc up from the worn wood floor, Caboose and I both started to search for any weapons. I started to look around the bar itself. With the mass amount of liquor back here I'm surprised there aren't any drunken Zombies running around. Nothing but beer, vodka, and a few dirty cleaning rags straight out of a cliché in an old western. I did notice an old, rusty kitchen knife laying on the counter and quickly pocket it for a later use.

"Hey Caboose, did you find anything?" I yell over.

"Nope, nothing." He replied. "And the door to the roof is locked too."

"Well that's just fucking great." I say, taking in a deep breath of air to calm my self down.

"Hey Church!" Called Tucker. "There's a TV over here."

"So?" I counter.

"Maybe there will be something on about evacuations or some shit."

I have to admit, it wasn't a half bad idea. It was coming from Tucker though, so I already dislike it. I did concede though and went down to the base back to the circuit breaker. I scanned over the switches and noted one that said "Upstairs AV". I assume that means the TV will come on. I flip it and run back up to see if it works. Tucker was reaching up to turn on the box. It came to life, only to be filled with static. I was so preoccupied with the TV situation, I didn't notice the nauseating breathing from behind me. Apparently, no one else did either. No one but Caboose.

"Church, duck!" He cried.

Out of instinct from my previous adventures with Caboose, my body immediately rolled to the right just in time to miss a huge claw come swinging at me. There, standing in the door way to the basement, was a Tank Form. I was scared shitless and I'm sure everyone else was too. We all ran over to the other side, hoping this monster wasn't as fast as his Juggernaut brother. Just as we did, we all heard the sound of a mechanical arm moving. We all turned to look towards the sound and found a small jukebox in the corner, hidden from the rest of the bar by darkness. It had a record in it's hand and was moving to put it on. Due to our momentary paralysis nobody made any move to stop it. The next thing I know, the damn things starts a song I've never heard before.

_**Tonight, I'm gonna have my self, a real good time. I feel aliiiive!**_

_**And the world, turn it inside out, I'm floating around, on ecstasy.**_

"What the fuck is this shit?" Tucker yelled.

Caboose ran over to check, "It's something called queen and the damned thing's on random."

"For fuck sake." We heard Doc say, surprising us all at his unusual vulgarity.

"Caboose!" I call over as I start to give everyone orders. "Try to find a way to shut that damn thing off! Doc, you try to find any sort of weapon to fight that thing." I say as I point at the lumbering tank, waiting patiently for our doom.

"What about us Church?" Tucker Asked.

_**So don't stop me now, don't stop me now, cause I'm having a good time.**_

_**Having a good time.**_

I hop over the counter of the bar and pick up two broken planks of wood. I toss one to Tucker, him giving me an "Are you fucking kidding me" look. "We are going to distract it." I simply say.

_**I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky.  
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity.  
I'm a racing car passing by like lady Godiva.  
I'm gonna go go go, There's no stopping me!**_

I immediately charge the beast, hoping to get close enough to at least land a hit on him. I see the beast take a swing at me, but thankfully I get the hell out of the way. Rolling over to the left of him, I see Tucker coming from behind the now confused Tank. Tucker takes a swing...and it does nothing.

"Mother Fucker!" I hear him yell before being back handed through the wall.

"Tucker are you okay?" I yell.

"Yeah, I landed in a bunch of super soakers though." He replied through the huge, Tucker sized hole.

Why the hell would a bar have super soakers I thought, only to have my thought process interrupted by the Tank's claws. I start swing the wooden plank around like mad just hoping that the damned thing would let go. Unfortunately, it only served to piss it off more and throw me through the wall Tucker was just sent through. I end up landing on top of him and we both get up, only to realize we have no weapons any more.

_**I'm burning through the sky yeah! Two hundred degrees.  
That's why they call me mister Fahrenheit.  
I'm traveling at the speed of light.  
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you.**_

"Tucker just start chucking these things at him." I order him, picking up one of the many water guns which have absolutely no reason to be in a bar. We just start to throw them at the Tank, hoping he would be deterred a little bit. One of the guns slides over to Doc over by the bar. By this time, Tucker and I have escaped the other room, only to be continuously dodging the Tank's heavy, clawed arms. I see Doc pick up one of the water guns in the back room and hear O'malley muttering something along the lines of, "This will do just fine."

"Church, heads up!" I hear Caboose yell.

I look up to find another monkey wrench flying towards my head, catching it just in time. I also see Tucker now has a broken pipe, no doubt from the dilapidated basement. "Caboose, you're supposed to be shutting the damn jukebox off!" I yell angrily.

"There is no off button, I'm trying the circuit breaker now!" He replied with a calmness I haven't heard from him before.

In the small time I was conversing with Caboose, I had forgotten to look for the Tank's swings. I got grabbed by the waist and was held up against the wall with Tucker next to me. We both thought we were done. We would've been, had it not been for a certain newcomer. Just as the Tank was about to smash our bones, a long, metal barrel starts to strangle the massive beast.

_**Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time.  
I'm having a ball don't stop me now.  
If you wanna have a good time just give me a call.  
Don't stop me now (cause I'm having a good time)  
Don't stop me now (yes I'm having a good time)  
I don't want to stop at all!**_

"Hit him now you assholes!" I hear Des scream.

Not needing to be told twice, Tucker and I take advantage of the immobilized Tank and start beating the shit out of it. Tucker kept on beating on the stomach while I kept pummeling the head. We kept this up for nearly a minute before the Tank was able to rip Dessmond from it's back. That's when we retreated.

"What are you waiting for Des? Shoot him!" I yell.

"I don't have any ammo you idiot." He yells back.

"Hold him off for a few more minutes you guys." We hear Doc Yell. "O'malley's almost finished."

_**I'm a rocket ship on my way to mars.  
On a collision course.  
I am a satellite I'm out of control.  
I am a sex machine ready to reload.  
Like an atom bomb about to.  
Oh oh oh oh oh explode.**_

The Tank, now fuming with vengeance on the mind, turned it's sights on Des. Running over to him with a renewed vigor, he began to violently swing his claws at Des. Des, being the only one of us who has had actual combat experience, was dodging the claws like they were nothing but feathers. I then saw him slide his sniper rifle down to the end of the barrel. Making one more flawless dodge, the former vet went off on the Tank like Liberals on an Anti-Gay parade. He began to swing his own rifle like a bat at the Tank, striking once..twice..three times and then finished his barrage off with a strong upper cut.

"Get him while he's down!" He commanded.

Tucker and I both jumped at the Tank and began to pummel him with our respective weapons. We both got a few good hits on him before he climbed back to his feet.

_**Oh! I'm burning through the sky yeah! Two hundred degrees.  
That's why they call me mister Fahrenheit.  
I'm traveling at the speed of light.  
I wanna make a supersonic woman out of you.**_

"Just a few more seconds you guys!" Doc yelled over, giving another update on O'malley's mystery project.

"Church, Tucker!" Des yelled. "Form a triangle and start attacking from all sides!"

We followed our orders and formed said triangle and began to assault the lumbering Tank. Giving small yelps of pain, we now knew he was at least starting to weaken. Our hope was short lived as the Tank got an opening at Des and took it. Taking a swing at his legs, which I noted were covered in blood, Des buckled under the stress and collapsed on the ground.

"Dessmond!" We all heard Caboose cry, the Tank included.

_**Don't stop me don't stop me don't stop me.  
Hey hey hey!  
Don't stop me don't stop me.  
Ooh ooh ooh (I like it)  
Don't stop me have a good time good time .  
Don't stop me don't stop me.  
Ooh ooh Alright.  
I'm burning through the skies Yeah!  
Two hundred degrees.  
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit.  
I'm traveling at the speed of light.  
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you. **_

"Get out of the way fools!" O'malley ordered.

Picking Des up, I now had a full view of what O'malley made. It was on of the super soakers we found with a bottle of vodka duck taped to the screw on top. It also had a lighter taped to the bottom of the barrel. I couldn't fathom what in the hell he was planning on doing. Des seamed to be able to guess though.

"O'malley don't!" He yelled in vain as the AI already switched over to madman mode.

"Oblivion is at hand!" He screamed as he lite the lighter.

O'malley took a few slow steps forward until he was within range of the Tank. Then he fired. I had never imagined that a super soaker could be transformed into a flame thrower. But, sure enough our mad friend here was blasting away with his home made death machine. It continued to spew the beautiful and deadly orange flame for nearly a minute before he had to refill. Thankfully, the Tank was howling in pain from the extreme heat of the blast, giving Doc time to reload and the rest of us time to move Des upstairs away from the growing fire in the bar.

"Doc, O'malley, lets go!" I heard Tucker yell as Caboose and I carried Des upstairs.

_**Don't stop me now *fizzle* **_

Thank god the fire made it to the jukebox. I swear, if I had to listen to that 20th century crap again I'm going to vomit. (A/N:Just so you know, I LOVE Queen) By this time Caboose and I have gotten Des up to the second floor. Unfortunately, we have now trapped ourselves up here.

"Where the fuck do we go?" Tucker screams, his voice gaining a higher octave every word.

"What of the roof?" Questioned O'malley, having abandoned his madness but not his flamethrower.

"I told you it's fucking locked!" Countered a very annoying Tucker.

"Help me up." I look down to see Des trying to get up, with little success. Caboose and I heave him up to a standing position where he proceeds to raise his leg up and bash the door with all his might. Thankfully it was enough to break down the cheaply made door. Caboose and I haul him up to the top of the stair way just in time. Guttural growls of the undead are now filling the downstairs of the bar and are growing closer every second. With Tucker and Doc finally through the door, Caboose and I closed the door and for good measure, I took my wrench and broke the lock. It will probably be fruitless but still. We were all so distracted with the door, we jumped when Des called for attention.

"Hey guys, no need to worry about me. Just a guy bleeding to death."

At that, Doc was granted immediate control of his body. He rushed over to Des and began his standard evaluation. "Des, where does it hurt?" He questioned.

"My legs." Des answered through gritted teeth.

Doc rolled up the tattered jeans and looked horrified at what he saw. A huge, gaping gash that went so deep you could see the bone. Blood was oozing out from it with little sign of stopping. Not only that, but we could all see traces of green skin covering the area around the bite.

"Des, what happened?" Doc asked, trying not to vomit on the already sickening wound.

"They followed me all the way down to 12th Avenue. One of the bastards managed to get a good bite out of me." He explained. "The weird thing is, it still hurts in the leg but not the wound. Although I could attribute that to the two gallons of blood lost."

"How were you able to fight with this?" Asked Tucker, shielding his eyes from the gruesome sight.

"I used to be a Spartan remember." He explained plainly.

As I was about to ask a question, something caught my eye. I saw Doc reaching for something behind his back. I thought it was a syringe or something like that. I was wrong. He aimed the 9mm down at Des, with everyone staring at him with shock. Well, everyone but Des. Immediately Tucker and I are trying to resolve the situation.

"O'malley, put the gun down." I say, drawing out the words slowly.

"Yeah dude. Lets just tone it down." Tucker agreed, trying to calm the program down.

"O'malley's not here." Doc said simply. "We have to kill him. He's been infected." He said it with such a calm, cold and calculating voice. Something nobody in the group has done but O'malley.

"Doc you're a pacifist. You don't use guns, let alone kill people." I try to appeal to his logical side.

"Church, you and I both know it would be more humane to kill him now while he still knows us, than when he turns." He explained.

I have to agree, killing the human may seem like an evil act of murder but what happens when he turns. He will just be another unthinking, uncaring member of the undead. Capable of no thoughts or memories. It really was a moral dilemma. While we were thinking it through, another member of the team who had long since stayed quiet was getting into a position to strike.

"Put the gun down right now you son of a bitch." We heard Caboose say in a very cold, threatening way we had never heard before.

We all just stood there, scared shitless. We had never heard Caboose ever curse, let alone threaten any one in a way that was actually threatening. He stood behind Doc with my wrench in his hands, which were raised above his head In a position to strike down the poor former medic. Nobody knew what to do. I wanted everyone to calm down and think this through logically. Tucker was probably thinking the same thing, albeit with more naked women and sex jokes. Doc was still pointing the gun at Dessmond's head. Caboose was still just waiting to strike. Finally, after what seemed like hours, someone spoke.

"Caboose, come here." We heard Des say in a strained, quiet voice.

Caboose complied immediately, walking over to his slowly changing brother with tears in his eyes.

"Yes Dessmond." He said in a way that nearly broke my heart. The poor kid has never had anything like this happen before. I could only imagine what it's like to loose a brother.

"Caboose, I need you to be strong." Des began, taking hold of Caboose's hand. "I need you to let Doc do it."

Caboose just sat there, contemplating what his brother just said. "Why?" He asked after a few minutes.

"I would rather go out human, than a monster." He replied, voice loosing volume. "Stay strong for me. Don't worry, Church will take care of you. Won't you Church?" He said, looking at me conveying to me that I didn't have a choice.

"That's right. I will." I say quickly, not wanting to upset Caboose anymore than he already is.

"Alright." Caboose said in a defeated way. "I love you Des." He said, openly sobbing now.

"Good. I love you too Caboose." Des said, his face now sprouting patches of sickly green. "Now, look away Caboose."

Caboose turned around and walked over to me, wanting to be as far away as he could be from the soon to be coming gunshot. I walked over to him, putting my arm around his shoulders, giving a light squeeze. I told him to cover his ears so he wouldn't hear the shot. He did so as obediently as a small child would. I looked over to Des and nodded, then he repeated the nod at Doc whose hands were now shaking. He returned the nod and got closer to ensure the shot wouldn't miss. With the barrel up against Dessmond's head, he bade a final farewell to him. Des just smiled and closed his now yellow eyes. Doc looked away and...***Bang***.

It was done.

Caboose was holding on to me for dear life, crying into the crook of my shoulder. I would normally stop him or make an excuse to leave, but I didn't. He needs me now more than ever. I slowly start to hug him back, giving his back a soothing rub like a caring father would. I feel absolutely terrible right now. Nearly everyone agreed that killing Des was a good idea but Caboose. He had to stand around, watching his friends agree to killing his brother. No one should have to be put through that. Ever.

Unfortunately, the moment me and Caboose had was ruined with a new sound. The sound of rotten flesh banging on the door. Everyone ran to the edge of the building to get away from the door. Tucker looked over the edge and muttered a weak, "Shit." I looked over too and saw hundreds of zombies, all swarming through the burning bar. The banging was louder now, no doubt more zombies have made there way up. We all readied ourselves as best we could. Caboose and Tucker were holding their melee weapons while Doc tossed over the flamethrower from earlier. O'malley and I trained our weapons on the door. Not a moment too soon either. Just then the door burst and the flesh sacks come running towards us, half of them on fire. We take aim, and then...they fall dead.

We didn't know what happened. One second the zombies were charging us, the next they drop dead. We all look up upon hearing the sound of turbines. We see the Red's, Tex, Sister, and a Marine Grunt standing at the edge of a Pelican. The Marine was firing his heavy mounted machine gun at the stream of undead, while the Red's fired pistols, rifles and...is that a shot gun?

"Take that you undead honkies!" Simons yelled.

"Seriously dude, your Dutch-Irish?" Questioned Grif.

The Pelican lowered until it was at a close enough range we could jump to it. We were quickly ushered on one at a time. First Tucker jumped to the hovering craft. Then Doc. Then Caboose. I turned and just as I was jumping, the Pelican got hit by a piece of concrete. It doesn't go down but is flung back far enough that I miss my mark. I start to fall and think, "This is it." I just begin falling and await my fate.

* * *

A/N: Cliffhanger your thinking? You thought this was the end, didn't you? Don't worry, two more chapters; the epilogue and a small Thank you chapter for sticking around through the poor excuse for a fanfic. 42, DO YOUR WORST! Review!


	9. A Nod to Old Friends

A/N: We're almost done people. This chapter holds a special significance for me, not only for my first, complete multi-chapter story, but because it leave's it open for a special work I may do. I won't say what it is but I will say if I do it, it will be HUGE! I don't mean 20,000 words, I mean over 150,000 Words! Due to my lack of grammatical correction, I am unlikely to do it yet. However, once I work on that, I promise to at least make the First Arc. On with the Fic!

_System activation._

Oh, my head. Feels like I fell from a three story building...oh wait.

_Flashback_

_I start to fall and think, "This is it." I just begin falling and await my fate._

_*Splat*_

"_Son of a Bitch!" I yelled out angrily._

_I look at my feet, or, at least my ghost feet. I see my body, twisted and mangled by the fall and now being devoured by the brainless undead. I see the Pelican fly low enough to pick me up with everyone but Caboose firing. I decide to sit next to Caboose to try and comfort him as much as possible._

"_Hey Caboose, how you doing?" I ask as gently as I could._

_Silence._

"_Caboose, you okay?" I ask again. It isn't until I look at his partially concealed face that I notice the silent sobbing coming from him. I want to give him a hug but my body is currently indisposed. I instead just decide to lay an intangible hand on his shoulder. I see Donut out of the corner of my eye coming over to us._

"_Hey Caboose, big day huh?" He questions._

"_Uh, Donut, Caboose isn't really into talking right now." I tell, hoping he would get the hint. He didn't._

"_What's wrong?"_

_I stand up and lead him into the far back of the Pelican so as to make sure Caboose wouldn't hear us._

"_Look Donut, After we got to the Bar Des decided to play hero and go distract some zombies. When he got back, he was bitten and started changing. We all agreed it would be better to kill him while he's human than when he turns. Caboose is pretty beat up about it so don't say anything about it." I explain to him. He just looked at me, then to Caboose and went to sit with him, gently comforting him the way only a Donut could._

_I look over and find who was firing the shotgun. "Hey Sarge, as fun as those things are you realize they have a range right?" I ask the still armor clad man, knowing it would piss him off._

"_Listen you dirty blue, the only reason I saved ya was because I was ordered to. So don't get any ideas that were all buddy buddy now. You will always be an evil, scheniving bluetard." He said, finishing his little tirade._

_I couldn't help but laugh at the fond...shitty memories of Blood Gulch. "Nice talking to you Sarge." I say as I walk away._

_I step into the pilots cabin to ask where we're going. "We're heading for the UK son. This outbreak has been contained to the US, Brazil, and Parts of China. The nearest UNSC Outpost is in Lancaster."_

_I decide I am satisfied with the answer and head back to the hull. After all the shit I've been through, I think I deserve a nap. I take a quick check on Caboose and Donut and find them to be talking quietly with each other. Satisfied, I start to drift off to sleep, wondering what body they'll get for me._

_End Flashback_

_Activating Rotary functions_

Guess I'm in another cyborg body. I should probably try to move some part of my body. I attempt to move my arm but was forced down by a slim, tan arm.

"Tex?" I guess.

"Correct, now lay down. You've been through hell and you need to let the rest of your systems get going." She instructed.

"Where did I get a new body?" I ask

"The UNSC decided that due to us being in a 'Breakout Zone' as their calling it, we should get some form of reparations." She explained.

_Sensory link complete_

_System start up complete_

"Well, all my systems are up." I tell her.

"Good, let's get out of here." She said as she helped me up.

As I walk out of the room I was in, I find myself to be in a large medical facility. My room must have been relatively close to the entrance of the place since my room opened up right into the lobby. Sitting at near the receptionist desk were my friends. They saw me and immediately jumped to greet me.

"Hey man, how's it goin'" Asked Tucker.

"Feeling better Caspar?" Queried Grif.

"You took quite a fall." Said Doc coming over with Simmons tailing him giving me a slight nod. Jackass.

"Church, you got a new shiny body!" Caboose exclaimed rather loudly. "Admiral Buttercrust, come look at my best friend's new body!"

I chuckled at Caboose's antics. I dragged my new form over to the receptionist to get my check out papers in order. After filling out an unnecessarily long form, I turned to everyone and announced, "Let's go home."

We turned towards the door and proceeded to the private Pelican that would be taking us back to New Austin. After everyone was buckled in, I got to thinking, "What the hell started this outbreak to begin with?"

"The UNSC denied any involvement in it, but I have my doubts." Supplied Simmons.

"Still, something doesn't seem right." I mused to myself as the ship lurched forward as it accelerated over the open ocean.

* * *

"Operation Resurrection was a success. The UNSC and ONI deny any involvement and they were ignorant to our presence."

"Excellent work Agent Washington. We have complied the information from your report. I do have one question though, regarding the simulation troopers from Outpost Blood Gulch. Your report indicates that Subject GRD-172 was eliminated. Is this true?"

"Yes, I had my personal recon drone following the former Blue squad throughout the whole ordeal. They killed him themselves and we didn't have to lift a finger."

"Excellent! That should speed up our plans considerably. You should be commended Agent Washington. This must have been a rather difficult mission without the use of an A.I."

"Not really Chairman. It helps to not have another voice in your head when your trying to concentrate."

"Well regardless, I will be sure to let my employer know of your work. You are proving to be an invaluable member of this division."

"About your employer, when can I meet him?"

"When the time is right Agent Washington. I must go now, other matters require my attention. You are dismissed."

* * *

The young man was shaking and sweating profusely. Only two weeks out of the academy and he was delivery some of the most devastating news to his leader. With the documents that may very well seal his fate, he began walking off down a long, dank corridor. As he walked his anticipation grew tenfold with every step he took. The hall itself didn't help either, bathed in a blood red light that came from nowhere yet still illuminated. Staring at his feet, the young man collided with a large, armor clad man with a spear. It took a moment from his panic to realize who he had ran into. Honor Guards. The most fearful of all soldiers in the organization. Clad in a full body suit of what appeared to be a cross between ancient history and future design. Japanese styled helmets with a white 'hair' covering it, three tier reinforced armor platting for shoulder pads, and a powerful exoskeleton chest piece. Their weapons were the most fearful of all though. Large, four foot tall spears, colored in a red and black mosaic pattern on the top. They were capable of cutting a Scorpion in two with one deft stroke. But still, the weapon concealed a powerful focus beam able to melt the thickest armor in seconds. Truly these were the Elite of the Elite.

Mumbling an apology yet getting no reply, the young man was granted access to the most frightening of places. As the door opened, the man saw what few would ever see...and live. A large domed room, covered in the banners of the organization. Bathed in the same blood red lighting as the hallway leading to the room, it gave the illusion of the lights being the blood that had been smeared on the wall. Unsettling to say the least. And that was the least the young man was feeling. Frozen in his place, he had forgotten to address his leader. Thankfully, the man was in a pleasant mood...for now.

"What is it corporal?" The man questioned.

"S-sir, I have some b-bad news." The boy managed to get out.

"Relax son, it cannot be so terrible that it would end you. You forget, I am not a tyrant like him."

"Y-yes sir. B-but this could ruin our entire operation."

This began to concern the leader greatly. "What has happened?"

"The General was K.I.A at U-H-4146." The corporal blurted out.

The leader visibly tensed at this news. "Are you certain?"

"Yes sir. Positive." The young man answered, nearly passing out from fear.

"Leave. Now." The young man's leader commanded. He did so right away.

Once the door was shut, the room's remaining occupant called up a terminal. Entering a code that carried with it the lives of trillions, a large hole opened up. Out of it rose a tank, and with it a lone man floating in the tank. With large, gruesome scars covering nearly all of the man's body, it was painful to look at. Most noticeable, were the large markings on the wrists. The leader stepped up to the tank and placed a hand out to it.

"Soon my son, you shall awaken. Your life was not wasted, nor were your talents. Once we have regained our place in the universe, we shall strike and reign down on those who wish to wrong the universe and it's innocent. A Legion needs a General, and soon the Brotherhood shall have one."


End file.
